New bill would mandate that light bulbs produce 120 lumens per watt by 2020

It looks as though energy efficiency is still a big priority
for municipalities and countries across the globe. We've already detailed energy-efficient LED
lighting efforts put forth by Raleigh, NC. We've also discussed how Australia and the European Union (EU)
plan to get rid of incandescent light bulbs by 2009. The United States is also
moving towards ushering out inefficient lighting with H.R. 1547, which was
published on March 15, 2007.

The bill (PDF),
which was submitted by California representative Jane Harman, indicates that
light bulbs which have an overall luminous efficacy of 60 lumens per watt
(lm/W) will be prohibited by January 1, 2012. The energy requirements get
progressively steeper every four years. On January 1, 2016, the requirement
will grow to 90 lm/W and will reach 120 lm/W by 2020.

Exemptions could be made by the Secretary of Energy for
certain applications where it wouldn't be feasible to use energy-efficient
lighting. These include applications related to military, medical or matters of
public safety.

If an exception is made by the Secretary of Energy, that
still doesn't give entitle the recipient to a free pass to continue using
outdated technology. The exemption will only be in effect for two years after
which the current enacted requirement will have to be adhered to.

The bill also notes that consumers and businesses will be
given incentives to encourage the use of energy efficient light bulbs.

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This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

I love CFLs I have then in every light source in my house. But to say they last 7+ years like they say on the marketing material is a joke. I've replaced some within a year (one was burnt out with black burn markings on the housing), some within 2 years and while most of them are still going strong after 3 years.

I enjoy the savings and with the new cool white CFLs, I enjoy the white light. So even with the unreliable lifespans on CFLs I will not go back to old-school incandescents. But take the marketing material on the lifespans with a LARGE grain of salt.